Epilogue
by Vanishing Trooper
Summary: Every turn of a page yields new possibilities on how a story can end. This is one of those possibilities that can be achieved in the endless depths of a tale.


Author's Notes: This is something that was buried in my hard drive since CHAPTER THREE. I've only managed to notice it again and decided to finish it and put it up for kicks. This is NO WAY CANON TO BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR but it is a possbility on how this fic could end. Call this the Louise Ending.

Please enjoy~

...

I took a deep breath while basking in the afternoon sun as I laze about on my chair. The view from the porch was much better than I had originally expected it to be when I first settled in this simple house on a hill care of an old friend from Gallia.

How long has it been?

I gave out a soft chuckle when I remembered that I really didn't care. My time here, the epilogue of my sixteen-hundred year life, was arguably my most loved. The silly incidents, the people and beings I have met here and beyond were all precious memories to me.

My peaceful afternoon relaxation was suddenly interrupted when I noticed a figure flying in the distance and was approaching me. I raised a brow when I recognized the silhouette of what was approaching. I did not expect any visitors right now but I supposed that I should have known that this particular one would show up.

My visitor landed a distance away in front of the house. The manticore that served as the means of transport gently let its rider dismount before folding its wings and lying down to relax. My visitor walked up to me in a relaxed but purposeful manner.

"Marseille." I greeted the young woman when she was close enough. Her pristine light blue and gold trimmed clothing and wide brimmed hat were all to be expected from the Captain of the new Tristain Manticore Knight Squadron. She regarded me for a moment, her left hand slightly trembling as she held onto the hilt of her sword-wand. I saw a mix of emotions in her eyes before she gave out a sigh and smiled at me.

"How...how have you been?" She asked me a bit awkwardly as she walked up to stand at my side.

"I am as I have always been." I replied with a shrug. Marseille did not appreciate this and flicked the side of my head with her finger.

"You know what I'm talking about. I've had...a feeling." She quickly stated before folding her arms and leaning back. Her expression was not of the smug confidence that I was accustomed to. Instead, it held uncertainty and concern.

"I suppose that I shouldn't have expected anything less from you." I commented before a comfortable silence settled between us.

"So, how is life?" I finally asked her in honest curiosity rather than simply to break the silence. Marseille blinked at me for a moment before turning back to gaze at the view from the hill.

"I've been getting by. Being a woman in the military has started becoming easier over time. There are still the nay sayers that keep arguing that a battlefield is soley the realm of men. They either get with the program or they were dumb enough to try to challenge me in order to 'prove their point'." She bit out with a huff as she scoffed at the people that kept saying that she couldn't make it as a full-time knight. Of course, with her being a Square-Class Water Mage, she did not back down easily.

"You've endured well. Or should I say that you're just stubborn?" I casually commented with a handwave. Instead of being offended by it, Marseille actually laughed at my words.

"What can I say, I learned from the best." She shot back before another wave of silence went between the two of us.

"Thank you for coming." I finally stated after a few moments. The young woman shifted a bit before letting out a breath through her mouth.

"Is there nothing that can be done?" She asked me even though she should already know the answer.

"No. I have lived a good life. My time is simply up. I consider myself lucky to have lived as I had in my final century." I admitted. Marseille lowered her head after I confirmed that this was to be my last day. The final day of the Flower Master of the Four Seasons.

"So you will just leave me alone then?" She muttered as she turned away from me.

"You are hardly alone. You may seem to be a young woman but you've been around for decades now." I pointed out and was met with a sigh.

"Yes...my life span was kind of hard to explain after everyone noticed that I didn't seem to age normally. Thankfully I was able to play it off as an experimental Square-Level Water enchantment I've been working on." Marseille said before finally turning back to me, a small smile on her lips.

"I am proud of you Marseille. I am glad to have been able to watch over you as long as I have." I wondered why I suddenly said that out of the blue as I felt my eyelids start to get heavier...but I supposed that it was only appropriate.

"I'm proud to be me too...I'll try to live the best I can." She responded as I saw tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"That is all I ask..." I muttered before the darkness took me. My last memory of the realm of Halkeginia was the tearful smile that my daughter gave me as she sent me off. Her strawberry-pink hair and beautiful amber eyes glittered against the sunlight so much like her mother's did.

...

"That's one hell of an ending eh?" One Komachi Onozuka commented as she continued to row the gondola I was riding on.

I honestly did not expect to be suddenly wake up as a ghost in Hakugyokuro. It was rather nostalgic to be there again but I did not feel like meeting Yuyuko or anyone else I knew so I decided to head straight to the Sanzu for my boatride. It was rather odd that I ended up with my male form even as a ghost. Although, I did recall Yuyuko once saying that the ghosts that have enough willpower in life tend to take the form they wanted the most.

I should have expected to run into the shinigami as soon as I got to the riverbank. She enthusiastically greeted me and teased me about staying as a guy even as a ghost. Komachi was the first local I've encountered here, which made sense since this was the realm of the dead. After exchanging pleasantries, and heading off across the Sanzu, Komachi started asking me what my life was like ever since I got pulled out of Gensokyo. I raised a brow but told her anyway. I assumed that her ability to manipulate distance was the reason why I was able to tell her the whole story before we reached the Higan.

"I apologize if my end was sitting on a chair and not going down in a blaze of glory." I deadpanned but Komachi simply chuckled at my response.

"I never said that it was a bad thing. Though you really shouldn't keep a girl waiting you know." She suddenly stated with a sly grin. I raised a brow as to what she was talking about when I heard footsteps approaching.

"Well, I'd back to work before Shikieiki-sama gets mad again." I heard Komachi say as her voice progressively started to become more distant. I was never able to look back at her because I doubted my own ectoplasmic eyes as I saw who was approaching.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." The one in question smugly said while folding her arms and leaning back. Her amber eyes looked right at me with clarity I have not seen in years while her pink hair flowed down her back like a stream of cotton candy.

"You'd forgive me for reacting as such. It has been a while since I've seen you that..." I trailed off before clearing my throat. I saw her slowly move closer to me, like a cat stalking a potential meal, before looking up at me. Even after all the years we've known each other, she was still a bit shorter than I am.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that last part. Could you repeat it for me Yuka?" She asked me in mock wonder complete with her cheshire smile.

"Now really isn't the time for those kinds of jokes Louise." I stated as flatly as I could. The woman in front of me merely widened her grin before grabbing the collar of my shirt and pulling me closer.

"This is the perfect time for this. Do you have any idea how long I've waited to see you again?" Louise suddenly stated in a more serious tone even as our faces were only a few centimeters apart.

"Yes...I apologize for taking so long. And you look beautiful by the way." I stated with a smile before giving my master, my partner, and the woman I fell in love with a kiss. We ended the kiss after a few more seconds and Louise settled on wrapping her arms around my sides and burying her face in my right shoulder.

"How's our little girl?" Louise asked me with obvious curiosity and concern for our daughter.

"Marseille is, as Cirno would put it, kicking ass and taking names. She recently became the captain of her own manticore knight squadron. They call themselves the Guildenstern Squardron. I'm pretty sure her grandparents would have been very proud of her." I told her as I returned Louise's embrace. Karin would have been very proud of Marseille for summoning a manticore as her familiar and becoming a magic knight. Eugene would have been proud of her since she is an extremely formidable and creative water mage.

"Of course they would be...we're proud of her after all." Louise replied matter-of-factly.

"I missed you..." She added after a short moment.

"As did I. I love you Louise." I stated before leaning in for another kiss.

Never did I expect that I would ever find love in my life as a youkai. Never did I expect that I would be summoned as a familiar. . Never did I expect to care for humans as much as I have these past few decades. Never did I expect to be able to raise a family. Never did I expect that I would experience all those things because of one woman.

I only wished for a change in my life one day at the start of spring. Yukari once told me to Be Careful What I Wished For...now as I stand here on the other side og Higan with the woman I love. I didn't really regret that wish at all.

"By the way...how did you end up here anyway? I thought Halkeginian souls would have ended up elsewhere." I asked when I finally though it odd for Louise to be in the Netherworld connected to Gensokyo. Louise looked up to me and gave me another of those silly smiles that I loved so before responding.

"Yukari was fooling around again..." Was all she said and I simply laughed it off before giving Louise another hug.

So ends my tale. So ends my life. I have experienced much in my life and all of them were precious to me. I am content to be able to pass on with the person I love with me. The girl with pink hair and amber eyes that was able to reach out and call to me beyond the border between worlds.

...

R&R if you want~

Happy New Year Guys~


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